Beginnings
by Neko-chan the Mewse
Summary: They say that heroes live forever in some form or another. No one really knew how true that statement was.
1. Lorelei

**This will likely turn into a series of oneshots. This was inspired by the thought of the fonon sentiences. I mean, is it implausible that the title could be passed on? Any sane mind would snap under the pressure of existing for too long. I'm treating the names of the sentiences as a title rather than the actual names. And who said elements had specified genders anyway?**

**This idea was eating away at me. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please give me feedback. I'd like to know if chasing this idea has any merits.**

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Beginnings  
By Neko-chan the Mewse  
4/20/09

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Luke stared at the full moon with a calm and serene expression. Auldrant had gone through so much change, yet Tataroo Valley remained the same. He loved it and hated it all at once. To him, it was the place of endings and beginnings. He had begun and ended once before. Perhaps, he thought wryly, it was time to begin again. "The selenias look beautiful tonight," he said softly to his unseen companion.

He wasn't surprised at all when Tear sighed and moved out of the shadows to sit beside him. He smiled at her disgruntled look; she didn't like it when he pointed her out so easily. "They do look beautiful," Tear agreed after a moment. "But you and I know that's not why you're here."

Luke looked away from her quickly; he hadn't thought any of them had noticed.

As if she could read his thoughts, Tear whacked him in the head. "Of course we noticed you were missing, you idiot!" she scolded as he rubbed his head. "We aren't so busy that we wouldn't check on you. Guy was frantic after the first day you went missing. He almost caused five different earthquakes while looking for you."

"Guy worries too much," Luke grumbled. "All of you worry too much. I just wanted to be alone for a bit."

"It's been a week, Luke," Tear said disbelievingly. "I think you've been alone long enough. We both know that you have things you need to take care of. So, why are you really here?"

Luke remained silent. He couldn't really tell her that he was here because the large concentration of seventh fonons was comforting him. She'd then ask what was wrong and he couldn't answer that. She'd go on a killing spree if she found out.

Tear sighed when it became apparent Luke wasn't going to tell her anything. She'd be patient and hope he told her eventually. "...how's Asch doing?"

Luke was relieved at the change in subject. "Asch? He's fine; more than fine, actually. He spends a lot of his time with Natalia," Luke and Tear shared an eye roll. "He acts all gruff but he's really nothing more than a lovesick puppy. The sad thing is that Natalia is the same way."

"You'd think that with all the time that's past, they'd have gotten it over with, but—"

"—they continue to dance around each other, exactly like you two." Both Tear and Luke flinched at the sudden appearance of Jade. Luke tried to breathe calmly as his heart pounded fiercely. He really wished Jade wouldn't do that. "Now, Luke, I'm going to be very direct with you. And don't lie," Jade smiled that chilling smile that promised pain and Luke shuddered. "Why are you here?"

Oh great, now what was he supposed to do? He didn't want them to worry about him. He was fine, he really was (except for that minor detail) but he didn't know how to convince him he was fine. So he settled for trying to muddle the truth. "It was too noisy. I came here for the quiet."

Jade's stare was piercing and Tear's gaze wasn't much better. "I see." Tear said blankly. "I'll head back now. I'll see you later, Luke." Luke could tell she knew he didn't want her to know and he could also tell that he had hurt her feelings. He stared at her apologetically and she smiled back at him weakly. "I'll see you later as well, Colonel."

"You know very well I'm no longer a colonel, Tear." Jade replied, his own twisted version of a goodbye and a clear dismissal. Tear tilted her head at him slightly before turning and disappearing into the nearby shadows. Once she was gone, Jade pinned Luke with a passive stare that was somehow worse than being glared at. "So, Luke, tell me what chaos you've been up to."

Luke knew very well Jade wasn't asking about what he'd been doing recently. "I can hear them even from here. The seventh fonons around here mute it a bit but I can still hear them trying to call me out. Luckily the Key is still hidden, but who knows how much longer that will last." Jade's eyes iced over.

"I hadn't even noticed. They're being subtle. I'll take care of it." The singing abruptly stopped and Luke couldn't help a sigh of relief. "You won't be having anymore trouble from that group," Jade mused to himself.

Luke glared. "Don't tell me you killed them."

"I didn't kill them," Jade shrugged.

"That's not funny Jade," Luke growled.

"I never said it was."

"You didn't have to kill them," Luke said fiercely.

Jade gently pushed his glasses up, light reflecting off his lenses and making it difficult to see his eyes. "On the contrary, if I hadn't killed them they simply would have tried again. Binding you binds all of us. You have a direct influence on us. It is in my best interest to…_dissuade_…people from trying to form a pact with you, Lorelei."

"Don't call me that, _Sylph_," Luke hissed. He hated that title as much as everyone else hated theirs. Even Jade made it clear he disliked being called by his title.

"Touché," Jade smiled, infuriatingly calm, "But after four centuries, you'd think you would know how I'd react to a threat to us."

"That is exactly why I didn't want to tell you," Luke said wryly. "Anyway, I think I'm gonna relax here for a while. It really was loud before."

Jade gave him a searching look before shrugging nonchalantly. "If you insist," he sighed. "Just don't stay out too long or Mama Guy will come after you." He didn't wait for a reply, simply fading out in a large gust of wind.

Luke stared blankly at the spot where Jade had been standing before turning to where Hod had been. "Four centuries," he said softly to himself, "Four centuries and they still desire a Score. Was what we did the right thing?"

He stood, brushing imaginary dirt of his clothes before turning to leave. He gave the ruins of Hod one last wistful looking before bursting into a mass of seventh fonons that quickly disappeared.

_Their last journey had come full circle. Perhaps it was time to start a new one._

_This was only the beginning._


	2. Sylph

**And without further ado, I give you more about Jade. If you have questions, feel free to contact me.**

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**Beginnings  
By Neko-chan the Mewse  
4/27/09**

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Their jobs were exceedingly boring. Jade absentmindedly tweaked an air wave to blow a ship off course. In this day and age, it was one of the few ways to find amusement. After all, Luke would be so upset if he killed people for fun.

"I don't think he'd be too upset if we destroyed a ship or two. Maybe if we destroyed a continent he'd say something, but we wouldn't do that." Jade glanced over at his darker aspect with a raised eyebrow. "Well, alright, maybe I would do that." When Jade's stare intensified, his darker aspect sighed and reluctantly added, "I suppose we'll have to leave them alone."

Jade let out a sigh. Some days, it was difficult being split into three different versions of the same person. The lighter aspect of him leaned around and up to look at the Necromancer, as most had agreed to call his darker aspect. "Lowering the population of the land wouldn't benefit us at all! They're amusing to watch and if you kill them then we really wouldn't have anything else to do."

The Necromancer harrumphed and glared at the young boy, arching an eyebrow in surprise. Jade turned to stare as well. A statement like that, coming from the more 'human' side of him, was rather disturbing.

The lighter aspect held onto his serious face for another moment before faltering. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Both Jade and the Necromancer heaved internal sighs of relief. So Jade's growing humanity was acting like any other normal child and mimicking those around him. Well, if that was the case… "Perhaps you should go see what Anise is up to. We wouldn't want her to get in trouble, would we? In fact, I think you should be her personal assistant. That way, we won't have to constantly go to her when she needs us." Jade smiled at the child.

The seemingly five year old didn't buy any of it. "But you need me," the younger Jade protested. "There's a reason there's three of us!"

The Necromancer gave the boy a Look. "We aren't that old yet. Two of us can handle the job just fine. Besides one of the reasons there's three of us is because Eefret's job is so heavily dependent on us." The darker aspect was a harsh and unforgiving personality, but even he didn't want to see Jade's budding humanity get corrupted.

Jade could see the hesitation and he quickly moved to eliminate it. "Come now, don't tell me you don't like your Auntie Anise."

The young child, eager to please and always afraid of insulting people, snapped back. "Of course not! Auntie Anise is nice and so is everyone else! You're just mean old jerks!" With that said, their lighter aspect vanished off, presumably to join Anise.

Jade and the Necromancer shared a knowing and mischievous glance. "I suppose that takes care of that." Jade smiled and shrugged.

"Now we have to do all of his work as well," the Necromancer sighed. "What a bother."

"Don't forget we still need to name him."

"I know that! You think I wouldn't remember after four hundred years of not having a name for him?"

"Well, you never know."

"Shut up!"

"You act more and more like Asch, every day."

"Damn you!"

Nearby, but not so close that Jade would be put on high alert, Guy and Natalia attempted to muffle their laughter. They had manifested themselves when they had felt Jade do so, only to accidentally overhear Jade's internal argument. "They still haven't named him?" Guy chuckled.

Natalia smiled broadly as she fought the urge to giggle. "The poor boy. Maybe we should give Jade a hand and name him. I can't believe that four centuries have gone by and they still haven't named him!"

"We could let Tear name him," Guy suggested, managing to keep a straight face. He exchanged a look with Natalia and both promptly returned to laughter.

Hearing the laughter, Jade and the Necromancer glanced towards where they knew their fellow sentiences were attempting to hide. Jade silently wondered what they could possibly want to ask him. Manifesting oneself was hardly done for amusement after all. Jade had manifested to get a better look at the air waves. That Guy and Natalia had manifested as well was certainly not a coincidence.

The Necromancer grinned evilly and gestured towards Jade. If they really had a good reason to talk to him, it would frustrate them to find he had returned to fonon form. Jade hesitated, his conscience telling him it wasn't nice to ruin people's hard work, but centuries of bad habits won over.

When Guy and Natalia managed to stop laughing, they were displeased to find Jade had vanished on them. Then again, they had known Jade for centuries and weren't really surprised…


	3. Rem

**Happy Mother's day to all mothers out there.**

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**Beginnings  
By Neko-chan the Mewse  
5/10/09**

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Natalia had been born and raised a princess of Kimlasca. While the country had ended up uniting with Malkuth and being renamed, she was still a princess and she was bored. She wasn't used to being bored. She usually had something to do but…

Her current routine currently consisted of making sure the sun rose and set, sometimes changing the intensity of the light. She still had an important job (well, perhaps this was more important) but why did it have to be so repetitive?

She sometimes took human form and walked the streets to get a feel for modern life. Everything was so different; she could barely wrap her mind around it. She was so lonely though. She didn't bother talking to mortals—they had a much shorter lifespan, so making friends was rather redundant. The only highlights of her life were the times she and Asch spent together.

She loved Asch, but he was still a male and a male could never truly understand the mind of a female. She needed some one on one girl time, dammit, and neither of the other two could accommodate her schedule! She sometimes saw Anise, as their duties occasionally overlapped, but she hadn't seen Tear in nearly three centuries.

She spent the next few decades or so trying to contact Jade to see if he had a possible solution. Out of all of them, Jade still had the best capability to brainstorm ideas. When she finally managed to meet up with him for longer than a few minutes and asked him, he shrugged at her. "It wouldn't hurt to take a day or two off every so often." He told her. The look in his eyes said that he expected her to connect the rest of the dots.

Well, if it wouldn't hurt her to take a day or two off, then surely it wouldn't hurt Tear either. And they could take a day off at the same time and actually get to sit and talk! Natalia was overwhelmingly excited.

Then she had to arrange to get Tear to take a day off as well. It was a long and harrowing process, simply due to the fact that they were playing telephone using Asch and Luke. The two took it in a surprisingly graceful stride, most likely having foreseen this, and delivered their messages back and forth faithfully.

"Luke said that Tear doesn't want to abandon her duties," Asch relayed to her. Natalia responded with a string of expletives and then had him deliver a long speech about how taking time off a single day out of several years was not abandoning duty.

Thinking back on it, Asch most likely delivered her speech word for word while Luke simply condensed it to a single sentence. Well, there went a good waste of a speech.

It took some convincing, but, after a decade of arguing via Lorelei, Tear finally agreed that they did deserve a day off every so often to catch up.

The first time Natalia and Tear got together, it appeared as if the moon had simply erased the sun and plunged the world into darkness. It sent the people into such a panic that the girls ended up agreeing that they would meet every other decade rather than every other year and for no longer than a few minutes. A whole day of darkness might not be a good thing for Auldrant.

The people were still bewildered by the darkness, but less frightened. After the first few times Natalia and Tear met, it was recorded in history and became a perfectly normal occurrence. Natalia was pleased. She got her girl bonding time (even if it was short) and she didn't have to worry about the populace panicking too badly.

The others were perfectly supportive of their desire to hang out with each other. Asch and Luke wouldn't have contributed to the effort otherwise. Guy thought that it was cute and teased them about it. Tear and Natalia agreed to plan out a clever form of revenge later.

Anise was offended and demanded to know why she wasn't invited. Tear informed her that it wasn't that she wasn't invited; it was just that she hadn't shown up. Anise joined them on the next outing and the people watched the sky in awe when they saw that they could still see an outline of the sun.

And as for Jade…he just cackled and told them that a few solar eclipses were good for variety. He looked very satisfied with himself.

Natalia took one look at his face and didn't even want to ask what a solar eclipse was.


	4. Gnome

**My longest chapter, the highly anticipated Mama Guy.**

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**Beginnings  
By Neko-chan the Mewse  
5/17/09**

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What was wrong with today's world? Guy thought angrily and showed his displeasure by sending out minor earthquakes. War, war, war, was anyone at all a pacifist? When the battle continued he sent out a more violent tremor and the opposing armies eventually retreated. Once they did, he calmed down slightly.

He pouted (a rather unmanly action, he would admit, but it wasn't like anyone was there) and sat down on the ground huffily. He sat on a cliff near Surrey Hill, overlooking the Rugnica Plains with eyes more keen than any mortal creature's. He had been confused when he sensed tremors in the ground that he had nothing to do with and had manifested to get a look.

When Guy saw the fighting, something inside him snapped in anger. It wasn't the sort of anger he used to have towards the people responsible for Hod's destruction. It was more along the lines of the way he felt when Luke did something he shouldn't have when he knew better. Sure, Luke was his friend, but at the same time Luke was also the helpless kid he had taken care of. Luke was like his child, as strange as that statement sounded.

Speak of the devil… "So what's with all the earthquakes?" Luke asked as he plopped down next to Guy.

"They were fighting," Guy scowled, gesturing towards the remains of the battlefield. The ground swallowed up the dead bodies as he did so. "I wanted to get them to stop."

Luke's eyes dimmed in sadness. "Another war already, huh? What's it about this time?"

"I don't know and I don't care," Guy snorted. "As far as I'm concerned any fighting at all within this millennium is too soon for me."

"It's human nature to fight, Guy," Luke said with a tired look in his eye. Guy pitied him for a moment, vaguely remembering that Lorelei was the only sentience to pass memories down with the title. He shuddered at the thought of having the memories of all the previous Gnomes.

"Yeah, well, if they want to fight, they'll have to get used to doing it on moving ground."

Luke looked at him skeptically. "Don't you think that's a little much?"

Guy held his head defiantly. "I'm not going to be like the previous Gnomes. This land belongs to _me_. If they want to fight over my lands, I'm going to let them know how stupid they're being."

Luke looked startled and then he beamed. "Yeah, I guess this world belongs to us more than it does to them."

"Damn right, it does! I love them all dearly, but if they're going to act like children, that's how I'll treat them."

Luke stared off into the distance with a dreamy look. "They are like our children, aren't they?"

There was a comfortable silence before Guy spoke up again. "As stupid as this is gonna sound, I miss our time." Luke made a noncommittal sound and Guy continued. "I mean, our time was messed up but at least then we could have done something. Even if we walked into a city, nobody knows us here. What good could we do?"

Luke smiled at Guy. "Well, you're doing something now, aren't you?" He gestured towards the abandoned battlefield when Guy looked at him in confusion. "Discouraging battles," Luke tsked in an amused tone. "Honestly, Guy, earthquakes will only work for so long."

Guy shrugged. "Then I'll charge down there in beast form and scare the living daylights out of them."

Luke's eyes got wide. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," Guy laughed dryly. "War is horrible. My lands feed and provide for these people. Seeing them fight…"

"It tears at you doesn't it. And then you get tired of it and wish it would all go away." Luke sighed. Guy could only nod in agreement.

There was a flash of fire and suddenly Anise was there, wrapping her overly warm arms around his neck. "What are you two doing moping around here?" Against his will, Guy tensed up. Anise poked his stiff shoulder. "Oh come on, it's been four centuries! Don't tell me you're still afraid of girls."

"N-n-no! Of course not! Sorry, force of habit." Guy forced himself to relax, ignoring Anise's grip on him. Of course, then the mischievous girl decided to test if Guy really had gotten over his phobia by sitting on his lap. This resulted in terrified shrieking on Guy's part and piercing laughter on Anise's. A minor scuffle then ensued which ended when Luke firmly sat them down and then put himself between them.

"Wow, Guy, you're kinda pathetic." Anise mused. Guy glared but couldn't really muster a comeback. His phobia was a bit pathetic…but still, did she have to put it that way?

"It's not Guy's fault," Luke scolded Anise. "And now he couldn't get over it if he wanted to."

Anise tilted her head at him and Guy blinked in response, a clear sign to continue.

"You guys honestly haven't thought about it, have you?" Luke said, sounding amused. "Why we take these human forms or why our mentalities haven't changed much."

Anise's face took a thoughtful look before it turned into a scowl. "Are you serious? You mean that's why I haven't gotten any bustier?"

Luke shrugged at her, leaning back and kicking his heels out in front of him. "We're resistant to change. A sentience will retain the form it had when it was offered the position."

"Why didn't I wait a few more years before saying yes," Anise practically wailed.

"Cheer up;" Guy smiled at her in a strained way, "It's not that bad." It was disheartening to hear that he would be afraid of women for the rest of eternity. He wanted nothing more than to go off and sulk, except he could tell Anise was really bummed out. The rest of them were either adults or close enough that it didn't matter, but Anise was still a child. She would never get to grow up.

Anise seemed to realize the impact of it as well, not only on her but on Guy. "I'm okay, Guy. At least I have Ion with me." Guy mentally winced as he recalled that Ion was physically fifteen with the mentality of a three year old. The poor guy. "What about you? I'm sorry you'll never get over your phobia."

"I've lived with it this long," Guy sighed. "To be honest, the thought of not having it just seems weird."

"I could try forgetting about your phobia," Luke offered. "Maybe it'll go away then."

"I'll pass on your offer, thanks." He said. Guy did _not_ like the thought of Luke's actions mucking things up in his head. Sure, he trusted Luke, but at the same time it was _Luke_ and the laws of physics dictated that something go wrong when Luke was involved. That reminded him… "I caught a bunch of people scribbling out a very familiar summoning circle on an island the other day. I enlisted Ion's help and we sunk the island."

"What?" Luke yelped, jumping to his feet. "Guy, you can't just sink islands!"

"Yes I can," Guy yawned, "And I did. I don't want to see you trapped anywhere. None of us do." Not to mention just how much more work they'd have to do if Lorelei was bound to a pact.

"Yeah," Anise chirped, most likely thinking the same thing, "You're important to us. Now get over it."

"Oh, he knows he's important. He just doesn't care."

"Asch!" Anise scurried over to wrap her arms around his middle. "Hi! How are you? I haven't seen you in forever!"

"I know you haven't," Asch replied dryly. Guy stifled his laughter hurriedly. "I came here to get Luke. There's some sort of chaos going on and I'm not really qualified to fix it." Asch was another aspect to Lorelei, representing the seventh fonons contaminated with miasma. While they had cleared most of it, there was still some lingering. It was highly doubtful that they'd get rid of all of it.

"I'm on it," Luke shared a grin with Asch, no doubt the result of some sort of inside joke, before vanishing off. It was still odd, after four centuries, to see the two of them getting along. Anise giggled at the two of them in the creepy way that some girls do.

Guy shook his thoughts away and decided to follow Luke's lead. "Well, I better get going too. There's nothing more to do here. I'll see you guys later." He gave the far off battlefield one last forlorn look before sinking into the ground.

One day, he swore he was going to fix the world. One day.


	5. Eefret

**This story is going to be a bit longer than I originally predicted, so please bear with me.

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**Beginnings  
By Neko-chan the Mewse  
5/29/09**

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Anise enjoyed walking around in big, bustling cities. It was fun, interesting, and gave her an insight on the current times. Of course, she stuck out like a sore thumb. The Order of Lorelei no longer existed, except as a rebel group trying to bring back the score, so her outfit didn't exactly match the modern fashion. Well, she liked her outfit and she didn't mind sticking out.

Although, some of these dresses were really cute.

"Ooooh," Anise cooed in front of a shop window. The pink dress was just adorable! How would it look on her, though? She eagerly pranced over to the doors to go inside only to find the store was closed. "What? Hey, that's not fair!" Actually, a lot of the stores were closed. What was up with that?

She glanced around, looking for an innocent victim, err, local to interrogate. After some wandering, she found a younger boy to corner. The boy frowned at her, irritated at being interrupted in his skateboarding. "What do you want?" he asked snidely, turning his nose up at her.

Anise immediately took offense to his tone and stance. Nobody turned their nose up at her. "Hey, what's with that tone, you jerk?"

"You're in my way," the boy exclaimed, and yes, indeed, Anise found she was standing directly in his path. What an observant boy, Anise mentally and sarcastically applauded. Then he stuck his tongue out at her.

Anise felt herself puff up with indignation. "Respect your elders!" Anise shrieked shrilly, just about ready to slap him.

"You're only a few years older than me!" The boy shot back.

Anise stomped her foot in frustration, silently cursing her inability to age and definitely missing Tokunaga. She could have used a giant, intimidating six foot doll right then. Instead, she shoved her face close to the child in front of her. "Watch your back tonight, mister," she hissed in a venomous tone. Then she turned and stomped off. Hopefully that threat would keep the brat up all night in fear.

She passed through five different streets before she realized she still didn't know what was going on.

"For the love of Lorelei," Anise sighed. "Can't a girl catch a break?"

She nearly missed Luke's sudden materialization as he fell in step beside her while brushing a few remaining memory particles off his jacket. "What's vexing you?"

Anise sighed again, too exasperated to be surprised. "Nothing, I just wanna know what's going on."

"It's the first Eefretday of Eefret Decan." Luke told her, as if it was supposed to mean something to her. When she simply stared at him, he smiled and continued. "Don't you know? The first corresponding day of the month, they have a festival to celebrate that sentience. It's a worldwide tradition that came into play a century ago."

"Ohhh," Anise's eyes widened. That made so much more sense. "But wait—that means that today's festival is celebrating me!"

"The rest of us always wondered why you never went to your festivals," Luke mused, putting his hands behind his head as he strolled alongside Anise. "Even Jade goes to his. But I guess you honestly didn't know."

"Of course not!" Anise puffed her cheeks in irritation. "If I had known, I would have gone! I love festivals!" She began to pick up the pace when she heard the sounds of the festival but was halted by a hand on her shoulder.

Luke had a strange look on his face. "It's also tradition for people to try and find us. It's a common belief that we attend these festivals, but we don't want them to find out that it's actually true. Be careful, okay?" Oh, so that was concern on his face. That was so sweet and completely unnecessary.

Anise gave him a mock salute and an ear to ear grin. "They won't even know I'm there!"

Luke watched her run off, his mind going through all the possible things that could happen and narrowing down the most likely. There were so many possible futures, but he was Lorelei and he was an expert at predicting the future. With a sigh, he called out to Jade to bail Anise out of trouble.


	6. Undine

**I know there are people reading this. I would appreciate it if you shared your thoughts with me.**

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**Beginnings  
By Neko-chan the Mewse  
7/21/09**

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Ion knew he was a rather laid back personality. Perhaps it was because he only had two—almost three—years of experience among mortals. He was far more forgiving than anyone other than Luke.

Sometimes, he wondered if this forgiveness was a good quality.

"Shut up! I don't wanna hear it! I don't even understand how in Yulia's name you managed to drag me into this!"

Ion flinched as Sync continued to yell at him but nonetheless continued to trail along the beach after his volatile partner. It could be worse, Ion supposed. At least Sync did his job. He just thought they could do their job better if they worked together. "But I—"

"I said shut up!"

Four centuries was a long time to have someone angry at you. It was even worse when you spent the entire time in their company. "Can't we work together?" Ion pleaded.

Sync practically growled at him. "I don't want to work with you. Leave me alone."

"_You_ leave _him_ alone!" Anise came out of nowhere and gave Sync a whack to the head, hopping out of his range when he tried to retaliate. After watching Sync abuse Ion's kindness for several centuries, Anise had had enough. Ion was no longer Fon Master and she was no longer his guardian, but she was still just as protective. Besides, she had never really liked Sync. "Ion's been super nice to you and all you've done is spit in his face! He saved you from dying, you ingrate!"

Ion gave Anise the closest thing he had to a glare. "Anise, I can handle this!"

Sync snorted. "I doubt you could handle anything."

Four centuries was indeed a very long time. Ion was a forgiving personality and maybe he could have gone his whole mortal life without losing his temper, but he had lived far longer than any mortal life possible and a temper tantrum was definitely overdue. Without even hesitating, Ion thrust his hand towards the nearby ocean and directed a large amount of water on top of Sync. "I don't want to hear another word out of you, you jerk." Ion hissed in a low, venomous voice before whirling around and marching off in the direction they had come from.

Anise and Sync stared at Ion in shock and fascination. Neither had ever dreamed of seeing Ion lose his temper. Sync was the first to snap out of it with a laugh. Anise then stared at Sync in confusion as he continued to laugh hysterically. "Uh, Sync…?"

Sync waved off her concern. "No, it's nothing. I was beginning to think he didn't have a temper!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Anise held her hands up in the time out signal. "Are you telling me that you made him angry on purpose?"

"No, I didn't actually mean to," Sync began trailing after Ion and Anise quickly jogged after him. "But I think he's interesting. That was quite the blow up." Anise slowed to a stop when Ion came into sight, but Sync went right up to Ion. "Hey, Ion, wait!"

Ion only sped up, his lips tight in a disapproving line. He was forced to a stop when Sync ran right in front of him. "What do you want?" Ion sneered. "I don't even know why I offered to make you my partner. We don't even work together!"

"So let's change that. I was under the assumption that you didn't have a backbone and I hate people like that. I'm Sync the Tempest, pleasure to be working with you." Sync offered his hand to Ion who was still frowning.

Ion examined Sync for a moment, trying to gauge how sincere the other actually was. Finally, Ion broke into a breathtakingly large smile, his eyes lighting up as he shook Sync's hand. "I'm Ion and it's a pleasure to be doing business."


	7. Shadow

**Now for Tear, with complimentary LukexTear fluff.**

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**Beginnings  
Neko-chan the Mewse  
7/29/09**

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Tear was shy. It was hidden very well beneath a layer of ice. She knew it, she acknowledged it, and she got over it. It's why she knew she fit the role of Shadow so well. Her personality just didn't…shine the way Natalia's or Anise's did. After their journey to free Lorelei, she thought she had gotten over her problem with people. Yet, her shyness continued to appear at the most inopportune moments.

"Luke," she said, surprised and unable to find words.

Luke just grinned at her unabashedly, daring her to object to his presence. "Yes? What is it, Tear?" She felt a shiver run down her spine. "Is something wrong?"

Luke was looking at her so intensely… "N-no, it's nothing…" Tear said, cheeks going pink.

He held his arm out to her and smiled invitingly. "Well then, let's go! I've never been to one of your festivals."

Tear decided not to point out the silent agreement that festivals were a private thing unless Luke foresaw that it was necessary to bail that particular sentience out. She really didn't mind. She…liked his company, actually. "My favorites are the knife throwing games." She confided in him as they walked through the crowds.

"And you like eating the cinnamon fruit pastries, blueberry especially." Luke added. Tear was startled. The cinnamon fruit pastries were a recent big hit and Tear had taken to them like a fish takes to water. But how did Luke know that? When she voiced this out loud, Luke only laughed at her. "I'm the planet's memory, remember?" he teased.

Tear felt a bit idiotic at having forgotten such a vital fact. She was several centuries old, but this felt a bit like when they were mortal and had wandered about Nam Cobanda together. She had felt like a silly mortal and so had acted like one.

"It's alright, Tear. We all want to feel mortal." Tear wasn't surprised Luke knew what she was thinking. Luke had an uncanny ability to predict the future simply because he knew the way people thought. Luke stared about at the people around them wistfully before turning back to her with a soft smile. "But I have you guys, so I suppose living forever won't be so bad."

Tear felt her heart flip flop. "Not forever," she reminded him, "Just until we find others worthy of taking our titles."

Luke rolled his eyes. "You know that is not gonna happen unless something drastic happens and a group ends up setting out to save the world."

"You never know," Tear said, looking up at Luke. "Well, I suppose you do but you're not going to do anything about it." The idiot would probably neglect to tell them when and what would happen and then pretend to be just as confused as them.

"You think I spend my time predicting the future?" Luke asked, raising an eyebrow. "Just because I can predict thoughts and such doesn't mean I do it all the time. Life isn't any fun if I know what's going to happen and what people are thinking."

Tear sighed, knowing that was the best she would get out of him. "Anise told me that we're resistant to change," she said, changing the subject. "How exactly does that work?"

"I think it's a way to safeguard our mentalities," Luke yawned. "We were offered these positions because we were judged to be noble or such. Making us resistant to change ensures that we maintain those qualities even though we experience so much more than most people ever would."

Tear thought about that carefully. "That makes sense," she said hesitantly. A normal person would snap under the strain of watching people die around them, yet she was barely affected at all. "Although there are some things I'd like to change." She thought about her almost relationship with Luke wistfully. They hadn't gotten farther than confessing before they found themselves trying to reorder the world and deal with the aftermath of Lorelei's release. And then Luke had disappeared, throwing another wrench into their relationship.

Luke seemed to be thinking about something as well. "Yeah, there are some things I think would be better if we changed."

"Like what?" Tear wanted to know.

Luke grinned at her impishly, grabbing hold of her hand. "Like this." And then he gently tugged her close and gave a chaste kiss to her lips.

It was startling, the effect he had on her. One tiny kiss had her heart pounding and all thoughts banished from her mind. She never noticed him fiddling with something on her hand. When Luke pulled away and gave her a heart melting smile, she knew right away that something was up. "What is it, Luke?"

Luke bit his lip and fidgeted. He was acting strangely, which was saying something seeing as he was Lorelei, and it was beginning to worry her. Before she could mention anything about it, he gently grasped her left hand and lifted to his lips, brushing a soft kiss against a ring on her ring finger. Tear suddenly found it very hard to breathe. "Tear, I know we aren't exactly normal, and therefore normal rules don't apply to us, but would you still marry me?"

Tear's breath hitched and it took all she had not to tackle him.

Forget it.

Tear tackled Luke in a desperate lunge, knocking him over. "Yes," she shrieked. "Yes, yes, yes!" She was crying, they were in the middle of a festival in public, and she couldn't bring herself to care. Luke always knew how to bring her out of her shy shell.


	8. Interlude I

**I sincerly apologize for the long wait.**

* * *

**Beginnings**  
**By** **Neko**-**chan** **the** **Mewse**  
**11**/**25**/**09**

* * *

'…They were heroes who disappeared inexplicably.

It began with the nephew of Kimlasca's king. He had a habit of disappearing, so no one put up much of a fuss, but when he failed to reappear after a few days, distress calls went out. The rest of the group immediately went on guard to no avail.

Yulia's last descendant was distressed by the absence of the king's nephew and spent her time with the princess of Kimlasca. The two were inseparable for a week before Yulia's descendant heard about a possible sighting of the king's nephew. She promised the princess she would return before setting out but when she did not contact the princess after the first few days, the princess knew that Yulia's descendent was lost to them as well.

The military officer of Malkuth became suspicious of the events and set out to see if his theories held any truth. He traveled throughout Malkuth and Kimlasca using the flying ship their group had borrowed during their journey and collected a vast amount of information. He returned to Grand Chokmah not long after he left with news of the next disappearance. The military officer had figured out that he was next to go and wanted to say farewell to his emperor before going. The emperor tried to follow him once he realized what was happening, but the military officer had already vanished.

The princess of Kimlasca was distressed by these mysterious vanishings and her father, the king, attempted to reassure her by placing more guards around her room. He was devastated when the guards informed him the next morning that she was gone. Unlike the others, however, the princess had left a note behind telling them not to be frightened and that everything would be alright.

The last Fon Master couldn't help but be scared despite the princess's message and traveled to Grand Chokmah to spend all her free time with the nobleman-servant. Despite the nobleman-servant's fear of women, he did his best to comfort her and keep her distracted from their missing friends. When she was called away to investigate mysterious activity at Mt. Zaleho, the nobleman-servant was worried that she would vanish too. The last Fon Master consoled him with the information that she would never willingly abandon him and told him she would be back within a week.

A week came and went and the nobleman-servant realized that the last Fon Master had disappeared with the rest of his group. Word of the last Fon Master's disappearance spread quickly and, worried for the nobleman-servant, the emperor of Malkuth issued guards around him at all times. The nobleman-servant was grief stricken by the loss of his companions and fell into a severe depression. He had only the cheagle belonging to the nephew of Kimlasca's king to keep him company and he knew that the cheagle needed to be returned to its colony.

The cheagle's exile was over, so the nobleman-servant set out to return the cheagle to its home. He assured the guards that he would be fine and entered the Cheagle Woods on his own. Not wanting to intrude on a private farewell, the guards consented and waited for the nobleman-servant's return. After several hours had passed, the guards decided that the nobleman-servant had had enough time for goodbyes and went into the forest to retrieve him.

They made it all the way to the cheagle's nest without encountering the nobleman-servant once and when they arrived at the nest, they were confusedly informed that the nobleman-servant had left a short time ago to head back. The guards quickly organized groups to search the forest, but not one of them found the nobleman-servant.

To this day, no one knows exactly where the heroic group went, only that they would return if the world were ever in trouble.'

"Huh," Luke chuckled in amusement. The book was a story of their journey to save the world and their subsequent disappearance. It was the epilogue that had him curious. "Hey guys, come look at this."

Tear peered over his shoulder at the book in his hands. "'The Missing Heroes'…Hm, this is surprisingly accurate."

"I always wondered how they took our disappearances." Natalia sighed.

"How did they know all of this?" Guy asked, taking the book from Luke and flipping through it quickly.

"I don't _think_ Mohs recorded everything I sent him." Anise mused, being one of two people who had written about the events they went through.

"Don't look at me," Luke held his hands up when Tear glanced at him. "I burned my diary shortly before I left."

"Who wrote the book?" Ion asked, looking for a simple answer.

Guy flipped it over and read, "It says it was written by Jade." All eyes wandered to stare at Jade.

"What a shame," Jade sighed in that amused tone of his. "I told them to say it was anonymous. It's a good thing I didn't give them a last name."

"You wrote this?" Luke exclaimed incredulously. The thought of Jade writing anything, yet alone a truthful legend, was enough to have the others staring at him in shock.

Jade shrugged. "Yes. I didn't want to just leave it at that. This way, the truly desperate know that there is hope if something ever happens."

"If the world were ever in danger, we'd help stop it, wouldn't we?" Natalia asked, sounding uncertain as she looked at them for reassurance.

"Don't be silly, of course we would." Guy said.

"Hey, are you guys done yet?" Asch called from just outside the door of Daath's more secluded library.

"Yeah, one sec!" Luke yelled back. He turned back to the group with a slight smile. "So we'll meet up again next year, right? Where are we going to meet?"

"Let's go to Yulia City!" Guy exclaimed.

Luke gave him an exasperated look. "You just wanna look at the fon machines…" Luke's eyes shifted and he leaned over to whisper in Jade's ear. Jade's answering grin sent chills down everyone's spine.

"Alright then, we'll meet in Baticul," Jade's grin got wider and he added, "Make sure to show up in formal clothing, I have something planned. Now, I do believe Asch and Sync are tired of acting as distractions and lookouts. I'll see all of you in Baticul next year." He left the room through the window as a gust of wind and everyone sighed at his abrupt departure. Jade would never change.

"Err, yeah, I'll see all of you next year." Guy exited through the window as well, remaining in human form until he hit the ground as a splatter of mud.

Anise hugged Luke around the middle. "Don't forget about me, Luke!" She exploded into flames and Luke hurriedly backed away.

"Geez, couldn't you have stepped away first?" Luke grumbled, brushing the memory of burns off of him and the soot disappeared with it. "I'll see you later, Tear." He leaned over and gave Tear a kiss. "See you next year, everyone." Luke's exit was far less dramatic then the others'—he simply burst into a cloud of fonons that quickly dissipated.

"Oh my, Tear, when did this happen?" Natalia asked as Tear began blushing. Natalia was quick to notice the ring she was fiddling with as well. Natalia let out a little squeal of delight. "Did Luke finally propose to you?"

"Um, uh, I mean—Bye!" Tear hastily sidestepped the question the only way she could by slipping into the shadows.

"Why, I never," Natalia huffed. "I'll see you in Baticul next year, Ion. It was pleasant seeing you again."

"Yes, we don't seem to see each other often." Ion agreed. Natalia smiled and faded into a nearby beam of light. Ion sighed and glanced toward the door he knew Sync was guarding. "Sync, it's time to go." The only affirmation he received was the sound of a large amount of water hitting the door and floor. Ion glanced at the water leaking in from under the door with a sigh. Why couldn't their group be more normal? He reverted to fonon form, throwing off a large amount of water as a side effect and left the room.

Whoever found their mess would be most irritated indeed.


	9. Luke

**Alright. Sorry for the long wait. This is the beginning of Act Two. This goes back to the very start of their existance as fonon sentiences.**

* * *

**Beginnings  
By Neko-chan the Mewse  
1/18/10**

* * *

"_I'm coming, Asch," Luke whispered as he shut his bedroom door behind him. He held his hands out in front of him, looking at the way they were slowly beginning to disperse into fonons. A tear slipped down his cheek. It seemed as if all his hard work had been for naught. The tear drop hit the floor with a splatter, the only sign that he had entered the room at all._

Luke knew it was going to happen before it did.

It was a feeling reminiscent of that day a few years ago when he began his journey to save the world. It was a day of many firsts; he left the manor for the first time, he fought a monster for the first time…he met Tear for the first time too. He smiled softly to himself as he strolled about the manor. "Young Master Luke!" He turned to find Pere waving to him. "I thought you were visiting that young girlfriend of yours. What are you doing back?"

Luke turned red at the mention of his 'girlfriend' and spluttered. "T-tear's just a friend! And I got back just now." Noelle had been more than happy to ferry him to Yulia City. He and Tear took turns taking trips to see the other each month and Noelle and Ginji switched off on piloting every so often.

_Hurry up, you're running out of time._

Luke mentally frowned at that thought. "I'll see you later, okay?" The rampant thoughts running through his head reminded him of Asch…but he had left Asch with Lorelei, hadn't he?

Luke wandered into the drawing room, hoping to find something to do. Instead, he found his mother sitting in a chair, reading a journal with a nostalgic look on her face. She looked up when he closed the door and her face brightened. "Luke, good afternoon. Did you just get back from visiting Tear?"

"Yeah," Luke replied absently glancing about. The manor felt so much emptier without Guy around. It was a little sad that his first friend was gone. "Where's father?"

"He went up to the castle to take care of some business with my brother," Suzanne smiled, recognizing the lonely look on his face. "What are your plans for today?" Luke thought it over before concluding that he had no plans. When he said as much, his mother offered, "Would you like to sit with me for a little?"

Luke blinked and then grinned. "That sounds great!" He sat down next to her and scooted his chair closer to hers. He didn't spend all that much time with his mother, which made him feel slightly guilty. Hesitantly, he searched for a safe topic to start on before settling on "What're you reading?"

"It's my diary," Suzanne said softly. "I'm reading it and remembering what it was like when you were little."

Luke felt slightly downtrodden. He had never been little, so she must have been talking about Asch. "You mean…when Asch was still around?"

"Don't be silly, Luke." Suzanne scolded him gently, immediately recognizing the problem. "You are as much my child as Asch is. I don't care about how you came to be mine but you are. I'm glad for it. Now, what I was talking about was when you first came to live here."

"Oh," Luke said, feeling as if he had jumped to conclusions. He smiled at his mother sheepishly. "So, what did you think of me?"

"I was happy yet at the same time sad," Suzanne said with a nostalgic sigh. "You couldn't do anything on your own. I wrote that it was as if you were a baby again…if only I had known." She laughed awkwardly. Luke reached out to put his hand over hers.

"It's alright, Mother." He smiled warmly and Suzanne almost melted at the soft look. "I don't really mind. _I_ didn't even know I wasn't Asch." He really should wrap things up. He had someplace to be. Where? He didn't know.

The blatant confusion must have been visible on his face because Suzanne worriedly asked, "Luke, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mother," he said. It most certainly was _not_ okay though, because instead of just sensing Asch's thoughts, he was suddenly hearing Asch's voice.

_Hurry up, you worthless dreck! We haven't got all the time in the world!_

_Asch?_

_No, it's Jade. Of course it's me, you idiot! Now hurry up and get to your room._

"Luke? What's wrong?"

Luke pulled away from his mental conversation and tried to give his mother a comforting smile. "It's nothing. I just remembered that I have some stuff I need to organize in my room. I'm sorry."

Suzanne smiled back. "It's okay, Luke. I'll see you later."

Luke got out of his chair and started to leave, but at the last minute he turned back to hug his mother. "I love you, Mother. Never forget that."

"I love you too, Luke. What brought this on?" Suzanne asked with a small chuckle. Luke said nothing, only smiling sadly at her before leaving the room. She didn't know that it would be the last time she or anyone else in the manor would see her son.


	10. Tear

**It's short, I know. :(**

* * *

**Beginnings  
By Neko-chan the Mewse  
1/25/10**

* * *

"_Luke, where are you?" Tear cried. It was so dark. Perhaps it hadn't been a smart idea to continue traveling through the night. She didn't mind the dark, she had grown up with it as her companion, but she had come to love the bright sun. She wanted Luke with her. Where was he? Was he alright?_

"_Tear, you came," Tear whirled around and took in the sight of Luke with an outstretched hand. She hesitated only for a moment before taking it in her own._

It only took two days for news of Luke's disappearance to get to Yulia City. When Tear heard the news, she dropped the ceramic bowl in her hands, uncaring of the mess she made on the floor. Luke had more of an impact on people than he knew. The whole kingdom of Kimlasca was in an uproar over the missing noble.

Tear knew Natalia would be worried with the disappearance so close to the castle, so she packed up to go visit the princess. She was received warmly. "Tear, it's so good to see you," Natalia abandoned her throne to give her friend a hug. Tear gently hugged her back, feeling the way Natalia was shaking.

"Let's talk in private," Tear said, guiding Natalia out of the audience hall and towards her bedroom. Behind her she could hear King Ingobert silencing his angry advisors. Tear couldn't help but smile—Ingobert really did love his daughter. Once they got to Natalia's room, Tear gently sat her on her couch. "Shh, its okay, I'm scared too."

"The last time Luke disappeared something awful happened," Natalia said with wide eyes. "What if this is a sign of something coming?"

"It's not, Natalia." Tear said firmly, sitting beside her friend. "I'm sure Luke will turn up soon."

"He would have left a note if he was going anywhere," Natalia argued. "That he disappeared with no warning says that he didn't go of his own free will."

Tear swallowed all the doubts Natalia was voicing for her and said, "Everything will be fine, Natalia, and if it's not, I'm sure we can handle it."

Natalia nodded, eyes worried but willing to trust Tear's opinion. "Will you stay in Baticul for long?"

Tear smiled and squeezed Natalia's hand. "I'll stay for as long as you'll have me." Natalia slowly smiled back.

They spent the next week together, nearly inseparable. Tear would wait outside of the audience chamber whenever Natalia was absolutely needed and Natalia clung to Tear as if the other would disappear at any moment. One never knew, after all.

"What is it, Natalia?" Tear asked when Natalia left the audience hall with a disturbed look on her face.

Natalia blinked and looked up as if she had forgotten that Tear would be there. "Oh, Tear, I—" Natalia looked away and bit her lip.

Tear knew immediately that something was up. "What is it? You can tell me."

"Someone brought news of Luke," Natalia murmured. Tear's eyes widened. "He was spotted near Mushroom Road." Natalia's eyes wandered up to meet Tear's. "Please, please don't go."

Tear knew how much it took for Natalia to say such a thing but she had to go. Natalia would understand. "I'm sorry, Natalia. But I'll keep in contact, alright? I'll be fine, I promise."

She left in a hurry, all of her belongings already neatly packed. It was a habit she had never gotten over and she was glad for it. She didn't want to waste a single moment in her search for Luke. Natalia met her at the front steps of the palace and walked with her to the port where Ginji was waiting to ferry her to Mushroom Road. "You promise you'll come back?"

Tear smiled. "As soon as I can," she assured the princess. "It's shouldn't be longer than a few days."

"Alright, come back safely," Natalia looked so insecure that Tear couldn't resist stepping forward to pull the noble into a hug.

"I'll bring Luke back with me," Tear promised. Natalia waved her off wistfully, standing there long after the Albiore had left the port, unable to shake off the sinking feeling in her chest.


	11. Jade

**Sorry, Jade didn't want to be written.**

* * *

**Beginnings  
By Neko-chan the Mewse  
7/22/10**

* * *

"_I'm sorry, Peony," Jade adjusted his glasses as he shut the doors to Peony's chambers shut. As usual, there was no one in the hallway outside the emperor's room. That was good, Jade decided. He didn't want to traumatize some poor soul in his last moments. Jade let out a small breath of air and finally released the tight hold he had on his fonons. It felt…liberating._

_Faintly, as if through water, he heard the door slam open behind him. "Jade!"_

Jade knew that something was going on. Something had gone horribly wrong with the world. If it had been just Luke who had disappeared, he would not be so alarmed. But Tear, the ever responsible soldier, had gone missing as well. He had thought his troubles over. He had hoped to continue working and earn an early retirement where he could sit and laugh at his young friends as they scrambled to get things done. But no, they had to go stirring up trouble, didn't they?

He had contacted Noelle and convinced her to come get him. If he couldn't get to the bottom of this mess within the month, he'd eat his boot. So of course he managed to gather the answers within the week.

During that time he found that he began having difficulties gathering any but the third fonon, which he found strange. Naturally he had to look into it. It was this anomaly that led him to his discovery of the truth behind Luke and Tear's disappearance. And what a shocking revelation it was!

After all, he was showing every sign of being the next to vanish.

This…was not a good thing. He told Noelle to return him to Grand Chokmah and proceeded to try and hold himself together. It would not do to disappear before telling Peony what was going on. Well, he couldn't tell Peony everything. That wouldn't do at all because Peony would undoubtedly be unable to resist telling others what had happened and he couldn't let that happen. As frightened as they all were, they might panic and do something incredibly stupid. No, it was best that they were left in the dark.

Peony would be in his rooms at this time, Jade knew. He hadn't seen soldiers running around in a panic and it wasn't time for the day's council in the audience chamber yet. He let himself into the emperor's rooms without knocking, being the only one who could do so and not get punished.

"Jade, you're back," Peony grinned cheerfully at him. He was seated at his desk, writing reports for something or another. "I'm glad to see you didn't disappear on me."

"I wouldn't have disappeared with out telling you first, your Majesty," Jade smiled slightly, adjusting his glasses. "I'm a little more responsible than that."

"I didn't think you were responsible at all," Peony shot back.

Jade's smile took on a slightly sadistic tilt. "With all the young people I travel with, it's really no surprise I developed some sense of responsibility."

"So what did you find?" Peony asked in his emperor voice, all joking aside. Jade responded by switching over to his colonel façade.

"Luke and Tear's disappearances weren't an accident. They were connected. There'll be a string of disappearances. And before you ask, you can't really stop them." Jade cut in when Peony opened his mouth.

"Have you figured out who's slotted to disappear next?" Peony asked worriedly.

"Of course I have," Jade replied. "But what good would it do to tell you if they're just going to disappear anyway?"

"Have you ever heard of a thing called _trying_?" Peony sighed exasperatedly. "We can at least give it a shot."

"I suppose," Jade replied ambiguously. "Oh yes, before I forget, I'm promoting my Lieutenant Colonel. He's been doing so well lately." Jade dropped two forms on the table.

Peony was instantly on high alert. "What's wrong?" Jade actually liked his Lieutenant Colonel, so for Jade to promote him and therefore let him out of Jade's jurisdiction…

"Nothing's wrong, your Majesty," Jade smiled blithely. "He's more use to me as an equal now." Jade's eyes casually wandered to his gloved hands and he tucked them into his pocket in one swift, smooth movement.

Peony, looking for anything that might tell him what was wrong with his friend, immediately spotted the move. "What's wrong with your hands?"

"Your Majesty, you really do worry." Jade sighed and stepped forward.

Peony was frozen in shock and didn't react in time to hug Jade back before Jade was stepping back as if nothing had happened.

"I'll see you later, Peony," Jade smiled, actually _smiled_, and let himself out of the room. Peony's eyes wandered down to the forms. One was a form for promoting an officer and the other…

….the other was a letter of resignation.


	12. Natalia

**I must confess that Natalia is my least favorite to write. :(**

**

* * *

**

**Beginnings**  
**By Neko-chan the Mewse**  
**10/26/10**

* * *

"_It's okay, Father," It was so warm. How could she have been frightened of this? Natalia gently kissed the note she had written. It was the only thing she could leave for her father. She wanted him to know that she had been alright. "I'm not scared anymore. I'm free."_

Natalia stared out her bedroom window listlessly. First Luke, then Tear—even Jade had vanished. Emperor Peony had caused quite the uproar over his missing colonel. She was so frightened. At this point, only a blind person could miss the fact that the ones disappearing were the ones who had saved the world.

"Natalia," she turned as her father seated himself next to her. "Are you alright?"

Natalia bit her lip hesitantly before slowly admitting, "I'm frightened. It's obvious that it's my friends and I that are being targeted. They've even managed to get Jade. I'll stand no chance if whatever took them comes to take me as well."

"I can double the guards around your room," King Ingobert offered.

"It would make me feel better," Natalia admitted, smiling at the king. No matter how good the abductors were, they would never get past all the guards without at least one of them raising an alarm. "It's just—it seems as if Jade went along with the disappearance. He definitely had a chance to tell Emperor Peony. What if my disappearance is necessary as well?"

"Natalia, you are the princess of Kimlasca—you are my _daughter_—" Natalia's eyes widened slightly at the intensity in her father's voice. "I would never let you go without a fight. If they really need you, they can ask through the official channels."

"I love you too, Father," she smiled and gently kissed his cheek. "I'll be alright for now. Why don't you get some work done?"

"That's a good idea. Would you like to join me?" the king invited. Natalia was tempted to accept but hesitantly shook her head instead. Something told her it wouldn't be a good idea to leave her room.

"I'm feeling a bit tired, so I thought I'd get some rest. Perhaps some other time?" Natalia offered.

"Yes, perhaps," her father agreed amicably. "Sleep well, Natalia."

"I will, Father," Natalia replied with a bright smile. The moment he left the room, she returned to brooding. No matter how many guards were around her room, she knew she wasn't safe. Jade was an expert at, well, everything, but surely he could evade capture and he had disappeared right inside the Malkuth palace!

The worst part of it all was that if her would-be captors asked nicely, she'd go along with them without a fuss. She wondered if that made her a terrible daughter for dismissing all of her father's worries. She just wanted to know and confirm with her own two eyes that her friends were safe and well. And if they weren't…well, the captors would be facing her arrows.

She really missed her friends. Being a princess was well and good but she craved that brief freedom she had experienced when she had helped save Auldrant. The ability to go where she wanted when she wanted—not always, but when she had places to be at least she wasn't surrounded by a group of guards. It had been nice, really nice, to travel amongst the people inconspicuously.

Natalia giggled and corrected her thought. Their group had been rather large, noisy, and not at all stealthy. They stood out from the crowd like a sunflower in a garden of roses. Still, it had been a form of freedom and she had enjoyed it.

_I want to be free._

Natalia frowned to herself and brushed the thought off. She could never have that sort of freedom, not while she was a princess.

_I want to be free._

She did…but what about her father? Her country? Natalia glanced down at her hands and had to do a double take. They were fading and she could see right through them. She took in a ragged breath, feeling her heart speed up in fear before she relaxed. She had already admitted to herself that she would go quietly.

_I want to be free, but…Father._


	13. Sync

**Updates should be a little more regular now. Hopefully.**

* * *

**Beginnings  
By Neko-chan the Mewse  
4/8/11**

* * *

"_It's not the end for you yet, Sync," Ion whispered fiercely. "Not if I can help it."_

"_I suppose then that I'll just go along with whatever you decide," Sync replied flippantly._

Sync hadn't been sure what to expect when he had been defeated and his fonons scattered to the winds. He dimly wondered if Vaan could still succeed in the face of such a determined group but found that he couldn't care less. What good would Vaan's replica world do him when he was dead?

He had died, briefly, down in the core. He couldn't remember much but it had been peaceful. It was infinitely harder to live.

He felt the same peace creeping up on him now and he eagerly awaited it. He was tired of life, tired of _living_. He was a replica, he had no worth, and because he wasn't strong enough, he had been defeated.

"Sync, won't you come with me?"

It took him a moment to realize that the soft voice that sounded so much like his own did, in fact, not come from inside his head. He wearily glanced up, disconcerted to find that his fonons had been gathered together to temporarily give him form again. The replica of Ion that had been good enough to live stared down at him with pitying eyes. That was strange. Wasn't the other replica supposed to be dead?

"Sync, I'm sorry, I know you wanted to rest but I couldn't just let you go. You said before that replicas are worthless if they can't replace their original. I want a chance to prove you wrong." Ion—because what other name could he answer to?—gently patted Sync's head and he realized his head was lying on the other replica's lap.

"I'm right though," Sync muttered, turning his head away. He convinced himself that he didn't move off of Ion's lap because he was tired and couldn't be bothered. It wasn't as if the action was comforting. "I'm not as good as my original and because of that I was defeated."

"You were defeated by another replica, one who tried his hardest not to replace his original once he realized what he was." Ion pointed out.

Sync stared into Ion's determined eyes and sighed. "You're not gonna let me die unless I say you're right, are you."

"I'm not going to let you die at all," Ion replied. "Not unless you want it so badly you're willing to kill me."

"You're already dead," Sync pointed out. "I can't kill you twice."

Ion smiled sadly. "I'm not quite dead and neither are you. You will be soon, though, if you don't accept my offer."

Sync rolled his eyes. It was so typical of the soft spoken Fon Master. "You never gave me any offer."

"Yes I did. Come with me," Ion smiled.

"Go with you where?" Sync deadpanned.

Ion flung his arms out and declared, "Anywhere! Everywhere! Wherever you want! We'll have a few responsibilities, but that's not a problem."

Sync stifled a groan. He dreaded the thought of being chained to a sissy like Ion. "I'm tired. Just let me die. I lived my very short replica life. End story."

"No," Ion hissed and Sync did a double take at the fierce glint in his eyes. "No, it's not the end. It's never the end."

"Well, death is supposed to be the absolute ending," Sync drawled. "If you think you can change that then go ahead."

Ion's eyes flashed blue for a moment and then he leaned down to rest his forehead against Sync's. Sync had no choice but to concede when Ion was so determined.


	14. Anise

**Ah, it's been awhile. School's almost over.**

* * *

**Beginnings  
By Neko-chan the Mewse  
5/12/11  
**

* * *

"_Shit," Anise scowled and glanced at the flames surrounding her. She had to get back. She had promised she'd come back! The fire disagreed with her and flickered forward hungrily, ready to consume her. She stepped back to avoid them and felt her back press against the rock wall. Anger became fear and fear became grief. Anise sniffled. "I'm sorry, Guy. I guess I'm gonna have to break my promise."_

"It's really nice of you to let me stay here," Anise smiled at Guy.

The servant turned noble smiled back with troubled eyes. "I couldn't turn you down. Besides, we're safer if we stick together, right?"

"Right," Anise agreed sadly. They were the last two of their group of friends and scared witless. The note Natalia had left behind saying that everything was alright didn't really soothe their nerves much. Anise's hands twitched towards Guy, the small teen wanting a reassuring hug. She stopped herself, remembering that Guy still had trouble with touching girls. It was okay as long as you moved slowly enough for him to move away if he needed it but Anise knew he simply preferred not to be touched.

Guy noticed the aborted movement and sighed, stepping forward and kneeling down to give her a loose and gentle hug. "It's okay if you're feeling lonely," he said.

Anise sniffled and buried her head in his shoulder, quietly ignoring the way he slightly tensed. "I miss them," she confessed, "and I'm scared. Please don't leave me too, Guy."

"Only if you promise not to go disappearing on me," Guy responded. "Now come on, cheer up and let me give you a tour of my mansion." He began walking down a hallway and Anise hurried to follow.

"That's right!" Anise immediately perked up. "You're rich now too!" She let out a happy little sigh. It was nice having rich friends even if they didn't want to marry her. If she made sad eyes, would he give her money? Well, she wouldn't do that to him, she thought as she watched Guy's back. The most he'd probably do is give her a trembling hug, which was both really sad and very meaningful.

It was touching to know that Guy would fight his phobia to try and comfort her.

"I don't really feel rich," Guy laughed nervously. "Emperor Peony has me walk his rappigs for him. It's almost as if I never left the Fabre mansion."

"Well, you've got your own mansion now." Anise pointed out. "That's got to count for something!"

"It's a little too big for just me," Guy said mournfully. "And I'm not about to employ a whole bunch of servants. I have a maid and a butler and that's about it."

"I guess it wouldn't be too bad for me to stay then, huh," Anise speculated. "Alright then, I'm gonna spruce up your mansion!" Guy glanced at her skeptically but didn't comment.

He found out over the next few days that Anise hadn't been joking.

"Anise, please come down from there, the ribbons are fine, you don't have to adjust them!" Guy wrung his hands hysterically, his whole stance screaming 'nervous wreck'. That was only to be expected though when his companion was currently clambering about on the chandelier.

Anise cackled and swung over to the next part of the chandelier to tie a bow in the ribbon. "I'm fine," she reassured Guy as she hung upside down with only her legs to anchor her. "I'm not gonna fall." Unnoticed to her, but not to Guy, the chandelier began to tremble as it fought to support her weight and remain attached to the ceiling.

"Anise, look out! The chandelier's going to—"

Crr-ack.

Anise glanced up in time to see the ceiling crack as the chandelier finally shuddered and gave up on supporting her. She fell with a shriek, suddenly realizing exactly how high up she was and just how much it'd hurt when she hit the floor. She landed with a thump and a lot less pain than she had anticipated. Tentatively she opened one eye, then the other and quickly scrambled off of Guy. "Guy, oh my gosh, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Guy said with a wince as he sat up. "I'll be even better if you promise not to climb around my ceiling anymore."

"Totally promise. I won't do it again." Anise swore solemnly and then paused before adding in a mischievous tone, "Does that mean the roof's not off limits?"

"Yes," Guy responded before realizing there was a 'not' in the sentence. "I mean no! No, no, no!"

"That's too bad," Anise teased. Before she could continue with her jab, the butler appeared.

"Pardon my intrusion but there's someone here for the Fon Master," the butler bowed and a puffing messenger entered the room.

"F-fon Master," the messenger bowed hastily and straightened when Anise waved an impatient hand at him. "There have been some reports of strange activity in Mount Zaleho."

"Let me guess, 'it would ease the mind of the people if you were to inspect it' comes next in the message." Anise frowned before sighing. She didn't actually need the messenger to confirm it. "I guess that means my mini-vacation's over."

She stood up off the ground and gingerly brushed imaginary dust off her dress. She offered her hand to Guy but he simply smiled at her and stood on his own. "I'm sure it won't take long," Guy assured her. "And then you can come right back here."

"Yeah," Anise nodded. Her stuff was all packed—a habit left over from their days of traveling—so it was really just a matter of picking it up and walking out. The butler already had her pack in hand, actually, so she really just needed to take it and walk out. She didn't want to leave Guy alone though and she herself didn't want to be alone either. "Do you wanna come with me?" she hesitantly asked.

Guy smiled at her sadly. "Unfortunately I can't. Emperor Peony requested I walk his rappigs for him while he went off for a bit."

Anise bit her lip. "Okay. That's too bad." She shook off her melancholy, not wanting her parting with Guy to be tainted with sadness. "Anyways, I'm off then! I'll be back in a week or so."

A hand around her wrist halted her before she could make it very far. "You'll be careful, right?" Anise glanced back to find Guy staring back with worried eyes.

Normally she would have brushed his concern off with extra cheer but she couldn't do that to him this time, not with all their other companions missing. Instead, she removed his hand from her wrist and held it with her own, staring back intently. "I promise I'll come back safe and sound," Anise grinned. "Don't worry."

Guy held her gaze for a moment longer and then pulled his hand away. "You better hurry then. You have a deadline to meet."

"Bye Guy," she chirped before turning to leave. She wasn't too worried. One way or another she'd see him again.


	15. Guy

**And this wraps up the second arc. Anyone still reading this? XD**

* * *

**Beginnings  
By Neko-chan the Mewse  
6/14/12**

* * *

_Guy couldn't really bring himself to care when the plant life started to attack him. All his friends were gone anyway, so it wasn't as if anyone would miss him. He laughed brokenly, thinking about how pathetic he was, needing someone to take care of and now even Mieu was gone. He really didn't have anyone._

_When it became obvious that the vines merely wanted to drag him off somewhere, he dropped his sword and gave up without a fight. Maybe this was what had happened to his friends. Maybe this way he'd get to see them again._

"—so I'm assigning you a guard, just in case." Emperor Peony said and Guy nodded along absentmindedly. "Guy? Are you listening?"

Guy blinked and gave the emperor a tiny lopsided smile. "Yeah, since it's obvious that I'm the last of our group, you're having me guarded."

Peony smiled back and reached out to give Guy a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I'm sure things will clear up eventually but until then we just can't take that chance." Peony looked far more worn down than before Jade's disappearance. It was obvious the ruler was distressed by his friend's disappearance and he was putting as much effort as he could into preventing Guy from vanishing as well.

"I'm the only lead you have left, aren't I?" Guy said in a deadened voice. "If I disappear as well, you lose all chance at recovering Jade and the others."

Peony winced. If he had taken Jade's disappearance badly, then Guy had taken his friends' absence ten times worse. "I care about you too, Guy."

"It's alright, your Majesty," Guy bowed. "I'm happy to be of service. I do have a request though."

"What is it?" Peony asked curiously.

"Ah, Luke's cheagle, Mieu, was only supposed to stay with us for a year before returning to the forest. If you don't mind, I'd like to escort him back personally."

"Of course you can," Peony said, "as long as you take the guards with you."

Guy sighed but relented with a nod. He owed it to Luke to make sure Mieu got back to the forest safely, even if he had to take a few guards with him.

Since the Cheagle Woods weren't very far to travel, he decided to leave the next day so that the guards would have enough warning to pack supplies. The walk was uneventful and rather quiet, Guy's somber mood bleeding over to the people around him. At the edge of the forest, he turned to the guards and said, "I'll be fine for a few hours. I'm just gonna take Mieu back to his colony and then come back. " When the guards shifted uncertainly and glanced at one another, he snapped, "I want to say goodbye to my friend without all of you hovering. Feel free to come after me around dinner time but I'm certain I'll be back by then." That said, he scooped up Mieu, who had been bouncing alongside him, and trekked into the forest.

"Mieeeeu, Master's friend is angry," Mieu squeaked. Guy realized that the squeak was more from being squeezed then from any feeling of nervousness and quickly loosened his grip on the cheagle. "What's wrong?" Mieu asked with big sad eyes.

"Ah, it's nothing to worry about," Guy said, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. "I just miss Luke and the others."

"Where did Master go?" Mieu asked innocently, not understanding how much the question hurt Guy.

"I don't know where he went," Guy said, "but I'm going to go find him."

Mieu instantly perked up. "I'll go with you!" he chirped.

"You can't, Mieu, you're going back to your colony, remember?" Guy prompted. "Don't you miss them?"

Mieu's ears drooped. "But I miss Master too."

"I'll bring him here to visit you when I find him, okay?" Guy reassured him. "Don't worry about Luke—I'll take care of him." Mieu didn't respond, simply looking down and nodding gloomily. Guy rubbed the fur on top of Mieu's head and neatly sidestepped a hungry wolf.

He didn't bother with any of the natural monsters wandering about in search of a meal. His priority was making sure Mieu got back to the cheagle tree safely and charging into battle alone would most likely jeopardize that.

Guy had always functioned best when he had someone to take care of. It was rather ironic, considering he had been born as a noble when his personality was much more suited to that of a servant. He just cared too much. It was one of the reasons he had offered Anise a place to stay—with her around to take care of, his mind was much clearer. He wasn't quite sure what he'd do once he'd safely escorted Mieu to back to the cheagle colony, but he was certain he'd think of something…

"Mieeeeu," Mieu whined. "It'll be okay. You'll find Master, right?"

"Yeah," Guy replied rather gloomily, "I'll find him. I don't know what'll happen if I don't."

"Is Master in danger?" Mieu asked in alarm.

Guy blinked and then shook his head. "I don't know. I'd like to think he's just held up someplace—but in that case that means I'll have to whack him when I do find him." He looked about and made a left, certain that it would take him to the Cheagle Tree. Sure enough, it appeared and he walked over and gently placed Mieu down by the entrance. "Here you go. I'll miss you, Mieu. I'll bring Luke by when I've found him."

Something about his expression must have been off because Mieu chose that moment to become clingy. "Y-you should stay for food! We have good tasting grass, mieu!"

Guy laughed. "I need a little more than grass to fill me up, Mieu. But thanks for the offer."

Mieu just _knew_ it would be a bad idea to let Guy walk off so he tried again. "Mieu, just stay for an hour or two!"

"I have to get back to the guards or they'll come looking for me," Guy said. "It's okay."

"M-mieeeeeu," Mieu's ears drooped and he pat Guy's leg. "Bye then."

"Don't worry, I promise Luke and I will come visit." Guy reassured the cheagle. Mieu's ears perked and wiggled a little and Guy couldn't help a tiny smile. He stood and stretched his legs a little, feeling them tingle slightly from the awkward crouch he had just held. He smiled down at Mieu before quickly turning and walking off. He knew that if he kept talking, their goodbye would only be prolonged.

Mieu's ears drooped as he watched Guy walk off into the forest. He stayed put even after he could no longer make out Guy's figure between the trees. With a tiny sigh he turned to head inside the tree. That's when he heard the crash of clumsy people walking through bushes. Curious, he bounced the direction Guy had just left in. He almost ran into one of those armored people. The knight was alarmed but quickly recalled that this was the cheagle the person they were assigned to guard had been carrying. "You there," the knight called, "have you seen Gailardios?"

Mieu cheeped in fright before stuttering, "N-no, he just left,"

The knight paled and turned back the way he came. The trees were too thick to wander very far off the path, so where had Guy gone?


	16. Interlude II

**Oh my. That last chapter had the largest number of reviews to date, including the first. I'm amazed at how many people actually read this. Anyways, this marks the start of a new arc. I'd be interested to hear what you think it's about.**

* * *

**Beginnings  
By Neko-chan the Mewse  
6/28/12  
**

* * *

"We should leave."

Jade's abrupt statement startled everyone. "What? Why?" Anise whimpered. They had a nice, plush house in the middle of nowhere for her to decorate as she pleased. Why on Auldrant would she want to leave it?

Jade adjusted his glasses and they glinted in such a way that they hid his eyes. "Well, we're still being looked for you kn—"

"Bullshit." Surprisingly it was Guy who called him on his bluff. Everyone seemed startled, including himself, but then his expression iced over and he continued, "This house is in the middle of a forest, on top of an icy mountain surrounded by ferocious storms. No one is going to find us unless they trek out on foot, which no one is going to do because these lands are considered inhabitable. Tell us the truth, Jade."

Jade sighed. There were few people he could call 'friend' and even fewer who could call out his lies. The next few centuries would be interesting indeed. Honesty it was, then. "Have you considered what exactly our new 'jobs' entail?" Jade asked harshly.

"I don't understand, aren't we just governing our respective fonons?" Natalia's eyes closed in thought.

"It's more than that, isn't it?" Tear pointed out. "I mean, we were told that it took a special kind of person to become a sentience. Why is that?"

"Fonon sentiences are revered," Ion threw in with a glance at Luke and Asch. "Lorelei is a good example of this. So, wouldn't it make sense for noble people to become sentiences?"

"Explain Jade," Anise and Guy deadpanned at the same time.

"I'm hurt," Jade said in a fake whine as he adjusted his glasses. "Nevertheless, one of the things you have to keep in mind is this: We are no longer human. We cannot think as if we are such nor can we involve ourselves in their affairs."

"…so, why do we have to move?" Anise asked, sounding confused.

"Can you honestly tell me that you wouldn't be tempted to visit your parents at least once more before they pass away? We'll be alive for centuries after they're gone and you'll never see them again. It's better for us to go to the fon belt and remain there until any such temptation has passed." Jade scowled. It seemed that he felt very strongly about the issue and it made everyone else think twice about their rebuttals.

"It's precisely for that reason that I would like to see my father again," Natalia said softly. "Not for his sake, but for mine—I will have to live with knowledge that I ultimately failed as a daughter if I don't give him closure. We don't know how long we'll hold these titles—maybe forever. Forever is a long time to feel like a failure."

"You aren't human anymore, _Rem_. You don't have a father." Sync spoke up. Ion gave him a surprised look, but said nothing. Sync rarely ever spoke up when they were in a large group and he wasn't about to discourage it, even if he was being unnecessarily cruel.

Natalia's eyes flashed angrily but Guy beat her to the punch. "Whoa, you do _not_ get to say that. Her father played an important part of shaping who she is now and to forget him would be nothing more than blatant disrespect. Even now you still think of Van as someone to follow, do you not?" Sync lowered his head slightly in agreement but didn't apologize. Guy turned on Jade next. "Jade, King Ingobert and Emperor Peony are tearing their lands apart in search of us. If this keeps up, the future of the two countries is in danger. If you're really that against us doing this for personal reasons, at least let us ensure that the humans don't kill one another in search of us."

Jade hesitated and Asch, who had been listening in quietly with Luke, growled, "You can't seriously be considering it. Nothing good will come out of letting anyone know we're alive!" Asch turned on his heel and vanished in a cloud of fonons, seeming to be upset enough to just leave.

All eyes turned to Luke, the only one who could confirm that Asch was either right or wrong in regards to the future. Luke sighed and then slowly nodded. "He's right, it will end badly for some of us if we choose to see the wrong person. I-I'll go get him." Luke spun on his heel and was gone.

There was a moment of silence before Jade sighed and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "I guess we'll just have to pick the right person." Anise chirped. She turned on Jade, giving him a cheerful grin. "We're staying, right?

Looking at all the hopeful faces (or indifferent, in Sync's case), Jade shrugged and said, "Do I have a choice?"

* * *

"Hey," Luke said as a sort of greeting, seating himself next to Asch.

"Hey yourself," Asch grumbled back. He was sulking, dammit. The idiot was not allowed to interrupt his sulking time. It was an unspoken agreement.

Luke didn't seem interested in bothering him though. He simply remained quiet and looked out over the city with him. The sunset lit Baticul's rooftops with bright reds and golds that slowly trailed into darker shades as they watched. Asch tilted his head to examine his counterpart from the corner of his eye. They had only been a dual sentience for about a month and it was a trying experience for both of them. Luke was the main aspect of Lorelei, which didn't bother Asch too much except for the fact that, oh yeah, Luke got to boss him around. Asch despised taking orders.

Luke, ever the people pleaser, tried working harder so that he didn't have to ask Asch to do things. Of course, it back fired and just made Asch more irritated because _dammit_ there was nothing more stupid than working yourself to death because you didn't want to ask for help. A lot of yelling, throwing things, sulking, and apologizing later and they were relatively certain they had everything mostly worked out.

"Do you ever think about going down there?" Luke asked, watching the people hurrying about down below. Asch automatically scowled in response even though that was exactly what he usually thought about when he sat in cities.

"It's pointless," Asch replied. "We're not human, so it's not like we really fit in. We leak enough fonons even in these forms that even the most inept human can tell there's something off about us."

"Do you ever think about going to visit the people we knew?" Luke asked as if he hadn't asked the first question.

Asch's frown deepened. "Luke," he said firmly, drawing the other's attention to him. Once he was sure he had his double's attention, he leaned forward. "You'll only hurt yourself by thinking of that sort of stuff. That life is over."

Luke watched him with hurt eyes and Asch wanted to throw something at him if only to get that look off his face. It was like kicking a fucking puppy. Luke lowered his eyes sadly and said, "I know. It's against the rules, right? But…we hurt so many people. And it's not like we were people no one would miss. Even now, King Ingobert doesn't have an heir. Emperor Peony is still tearing his country apart looking for Jade. Couldn't we just…let them know we're alright or something?"

"It'll just hurt them more," Asch said. "Trust me, Luke," he added sharply when Luke opened his mouth. Luke hastily shut it and eyed Asch's depressed demeanor.

"…so, who would you show yourself to?" Asch jerked his head up to meet Luke's mischievous gaze. "Come on, you can't honestly tell me you haven't thought about it."

Asch growled and indulged in something he had always wanted to do—he shoved the dreck off the building. The resounding yelp was wonderful to hear. He sensed Luke dematerialize and reform a little behind him. Guessing what was on the other's mind, he scooted left just in time to miss the foot that would have planted itself on his back. "Watch it, dreck, you're drawing attention." Asch noted a little girl pointing at their roof. Luke noticed it to and hurriedly skittered away from the edge and out of pedestrian eyesight.

Asch didn't really care and stayed where he was, perched on the edge of the building. Who cared if anyone saw him? They'd probably just assume he was suicidal or something. Luke was most likely thinking the same thing since he had grabbed the back of Asch's uniform and pulled him out of sight. "We're leaving." Luke said as the sound of people down below grew slightly louder.

"Have fun," Asch pulled away from Luke and headed back towards the edge.

"_Asch, we're leaving._" Luke's eyes glinted gold and something inside Asch instinctively quailed and demanded he obey.

He sighed, deciding it best to comply in hopes that Luke wouldn't look into who Asch had decided to visit. Everyone they once knew would be dead soon and that was never pleasant to think about. "Yeah…I…come on, it's best we don't associate with the mortals."

Luke's eyes were sad, but they didn't disagree with him.


End file.
